[Harry]

Hi there,

I would not be worried too much about the cymbals, as long as they are not played when cold and also they hate sudden temperature changes!!

The shells are another matter entirely, it all comes down to moisture control.
You can get away with low temperatures as long as the moisture is under control(dehumidifier with the ability to choose and keep the right amount of moisture in the air) Also shells do not like temperature schocks.

This is all ok when it is not freezing, but when it is freezing your moisture control is gone. Any remaining moisture content in the shells will freeze and will split your laminates. Also it is not healthy to have the shells too dry!
This is of course all good in theory, I always try to keep the conditions as close as possible to my average playing conditions, which is not always easy.

For instance when you have to get your kit on a plane you have a total different ball game on your hand.
This happened to me with my conga's, which had fortunately fibreglass shells, but natural skins (cured hide). I had to borrow a hairdryer and was still foening the heads up to 5 minutes from our performance! It helped but they were still quite horrible, very inconsistent tension, not good foer the old anxiety!!

I do not know wheather it is possible to shield off and insolate a portion of the outdoor shed and put a little oilcolumn heater in on a setting of say 45 F, but that is a lot of fiddling compared to putting them in the living room over the winter so you can keep practizing!
Mind you, i tried that but my wife was for some odd reason not to keen on the idea though!!

I hope this helps you a bit, but I realize it is not an easy equasion!

Cheers, Harry